By Jennifer Pena

Day by day, the Web of ag information expands. There’s so much out there that most of us are just scratching the surface. If you’ve got the itch to twitch your fingers, type in the sites below; they’ll help you find even more information. AURI’s site is ever changing too, so check out what’s new at www.auri.org.

AgNIC
www.agnic.nal.usda.gov

AgNIC — the Agriculture Network Information Center — lives up to its name with a Web site so fact-full you might need to return a few times to get through it all. AgNIC is a voluntary alliance of the National Agricultural Library, land grant universities and other ag organizations. This site is a staggering resource, with an ag database, a calendar of scientific conferences and seminars, a directory of experts, directories of ag-related Internet resources, an online reference service and disease announcements.

Kazam.com
www.kazam.com/Agriculture

Good search engines are hard to find. Kazam.com focuses on the upper Midwest and breaks it down into search sections, one of which is agriculture. Browsers can type in their own search words or click on a more specific category. A simple, straight forward and fast way to find what you need.

U.S. fact sheets
www.ers.usda.gov/epubs/other/usfact

The Economic Research Service stores lots of facts on its Web site; so many that they are categorized by state. Click on any state to find a variety of ag-related data, including cropland, farms by size, farm financial indicators and the top five agriculture commodities, to name a few. If you’re searching for ag statistics, this site has them wrapped up in a neat, easy-to-read package.

Links to the world
www.leg.state.mn.us/lrl/links/agricult.htm

It’s nice to find everything in one place. Take the “Links to the World” page of the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library site to find links to agriculture and rural issues. A long list of resources includes Minnesota organizations, agricultural magazines and organizations, federal agriculture sites and organizations concerned with land use issues.

USA Online - Minnesota
www.usaol.com/MN/YP/agriculture/agriculture.html

Starting a new business can be a rough process. USA Online’s site is a tool providing information and services for folks growing their own small business. Set up by state, then by business category, the site is easy and speedy to use. The agriculture, farms and ranches category has 71 resources to explore.

Trends in Minnesota agriculture
www.rrcnet.org/~swes/TIMNA/HOMEPAGE/contents.htm

A lot has changed in Minnesota agriculture over the last hundred years. The University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center has graphed the trends in Minnesota agriculture on their site. You’re given nine Minnesota counties and five farm size and crop production trends to choose from, so click on a trend and county and see the changes since the last turn of the century.

Northern gardening
www.win.bright.net/~tlyockey

Master Gardener Terry L. Yockey offers gardening tips for Minnesota’s climate. Yockey has been gardening for 20 years and writes a column for a local newspaper. Get primed for your next gardening venture with tips, frequently asked questions and links. And make sure you check the photo album to see the amazing creations Yockey has at home.